Electric furnace.



No. 723,643. PATENTED MAR. 24-,1 1903.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19l 1900. l

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PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903.

G. 's. BRADLEY.

ELECTRIC PURNAGB.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 19, 1900.

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UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC FU RNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,643, dated March24, 1903.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, New York, in the county and Stateof New York, haveinvented certain new and usefuliImprovements inElectricFurnaces,of which the followingisa specitication.

My invention relates to electric furnaces for the reduction or formationot' refractory materials, and particularly to that type of suchfurnacesin which a continuous and uninterrupted'operation of the furnaceand withdrawal of the product are obtained by employing a rotary wheelor annulus into which projects at one side an electrode or pair ofelectrodes and provided with meaiis for pre- Venting the material fromspilling and means for supplying fresh material to be acted upon bythecurrent and facilities for removing the product. The wheel or annulus ofsuch furnaces hasheretofore been made of castiron, and the fusingoperation being carried on in the midst 'of a mass of material the outerportions of the mass were relied uponl to protect the iron from thedestructive action of the furnace. It has therefore not been possible tosubject the entire mass to the fusing heat, and thus entirely work outthe material, and great waste has ensued from this cause. cessity ofAhewing off the adhering and nonfused or only partially fused materialadhering to the fused mass after the latter has been removed from thefurnace. Loss of time, imperfection and impurity of product, and limitedquantity of the latter are further detrimental features of this usualprocess. To overcome these dimculties, I have designed the improvements,which I will rst describe with reference to the accompanying drawings,reserving for the claims the more particular pointing out of the novelfeatures.

In said drawings, Figure lis a vertical sectional View of a furnaceembodying my improvements, the electrodes being omitted and in generalthe view limited to such parts as will serve to illustrate myimprovements. Fig. 2 is an elevation of one of the facingplates orflange-sections.

view of one of the outside sections or covers. Fig. 4 is a similar viewof one of the bottom Waste also has ensued from the ne'- Fig. 3 is asimilar or interior sections. e In Figs. 2, 3, and 4 part is broken awayto show the composite nature of the structure. Fig. 5 is a partialsectional View, to an enlarged scale, showing another forni of theinvention. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the furnace with parts brokenaway, showing the position of thek electrodes.

l The furnace has, as usual, the wheel or aunulus l, mounted on shaft 2,having suitable drivingjmeans 3. The central hub 4 of the wheel issurrounded by an annulus 5, U- shaped in cross-section, as shown in Fig.1, the annulus being made up of a series of interior plates 6, fastenedclose together upon the hub portion 4, so as to make a completeparallel-sided surface to said hub, flangeplates 7, arranged side byside and of the segmental form shown in Fig. 2, and coverplates 8,adapted to be placed over the flanges 7 and to hold the material Whileand after it is being fused and to -be removed for the purpose ofdischarging the fused material. In order to enable the fusing to becarried on up to close proximity to the plates on all sides, I applytothe plates 7 8 a facing or lining 9, of graphite or carbon of suitablethickness. rlhis may be fastened in place in any preferred way-forexample, by the dovetailed depressions and osets lO of Figs. l to 4 orby the bolts ll. (Shown in Fig. 5.) In the latter case the" bolts arecountersunk into the lining and their heads covered with graphite pasteat l2 to protect them from the action of the furnace. Instead of thesemethods of attachment any other may be employed. For example, the ironand graphite may be clamped together or holes may be in the iron, andthe tongues or offsets of graphite may extend entirely through the ironand be fastened on the outside.

Inasmuch as the lining material being somewhat soft might be subjectedto partial injury when a charge is being removed, I make the flangeportions of the wheel fiaring, as shown in Figs. I and 5. This may bedone and is preferably done by forming the offset portion 13 of theflanges adjacent to the hub at an acute angle to the main body of theflange, so that when the same are applied to the hub the iianges onopposite sides of the wheel will flare apart, as shown. With such astructure the charge can be readily re- IOO moved Without injuring thelining. The Work may be carried on until the fusing has been continuedthroughout the mass right out to the lining. All the material in thefurnace is reduced, and no or comparatively no heWing off of thematerial is necessary, and much labor is saved.

The position of the electrode is shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings,(indicated by numeral 14.)

Having thus described my invention, the following is what Iclairn as newtherein and desire to secure hy Letters Patent:

1. An electric furnace consisting of a rotary Wheel or aunulus formingthe receptacle for the material under treatment, said annulus havingsides and bottom each formed of sectional plates, each of said platesconsisting of a metal backing provided wit'n a suitableV lining securedthereon, and means for passing the current through the material withinthe furnace.

2. An electric furnace consisting of a ro= tary wheel or aunulus formingthe receptacle for the material under treatment, said annulus havingsides and bottom each formed of sectional plates, each of said platesconsisting of a metal backing provided with a carbon lining materialsecured thereon, and means for passing the current through the materialwithin the furnace.

3. An electric furnace consisting` of a rotary Wheel or aunulus having ahub portion and forming the receptacle for the material under treatment,said aunulus having sides and bottom each formed of sectional plates,each of said plates consisting of a metal backing provided with asuitable lining material secured thereon, and means for passing theelectric current through the material Within the furnace.

4. An electric furnace consisting of a rotary Wheel or aunulus built upof a series of plates or sections and having a hub portion,

an acute angle and engaging the offset por- N tion of the hub, and meansto pass an electric current through the material in the f-urnace.

6. An electric furnace, consisting of a rotary Wheel or annuiuscomprising a series of plates or sections composed of interior or hubsections flaring Harige-sections and exterior cover-sections, means forpassing the current through the material to be treated, substantially asset forth.

7. An electric furnace, consisting of a rotary Wheel or aunuluscomprising a series of plates or sections composed of interior or hubsections daring flange-sections and exterior cover-sections, the severalsections having interior linings of refractory material attachedthereto, means for passing the current through the material to betreated, substantially as set forth.

8. An electric furnace, consisting of a rotary Wheel or aunuluscomprising an interior or hubpart,flaring flanges and exteriorcoversections, the several parts having interior linings of refractorymaterial attached thereto, means for passing the current through thematerial to be treated, substantially as set CHARLES S. BRADLEY.

forth.

Vitnesses:

HARRY E. KNIGHT, J. GREEN.

